Israel Update: June 2002

In this issue: Controversial Congressional race in Alabama, terror survivor speaks, the illogical boycott, and praying for the wounded.

by Aish.com Staff

===== CONTROVERSY IN ALABAMA =====

America political activists are intensely focused on an out-of-the-way Congressional race in Alabama. Earl Hilliard, the incumbent, is being challenged by Artur Davis for the Democratic primary on June 25. Since no Republican registered for the race, the runoff is tantamount to a general election.

Middle East politics have taken a prominent role in this race, despite the fact that few Jews or Moslems live in the district. Hilliard is considered one of the most anti-Israel members of Congress. He was one of only 20 Congressmen to vote against a pro-Israel resolution in May 2002, and one of 11 Congressmen to vote against a resolution "expressing support of Israel in the fight against terrorism."

In July 2001, Hilliard was one of six congressman who voted against extending sanctions for Libya and Iran. Hilliard has traveled to Libya (twice), sent staff to Iraq, and following September 11 introduced a House resolution to lift sanctions and normalize relations with terrorist states.

The campaign is not without scandal. Individuals connected to Hilliard were seen distributing fliers stating that Davis, a 34-year-old Harvard-educated black lawyer, supports Israel's "policy of complete domination." The flier further alleged that Davis's "only work experience was putting black folks in jail and now he tells us that Jews are our best friends..."

For more information on this race, visit the Birmingham News website (http://www.bhamnews.com), which is carrying the story on the front page every day.

===== TERROR SURVIVOR SPEAKS ======

Chen Keinan, whose mother and baby daughter were murdered in a terrorist attack in Petach Tikvah, said in an interview with CNN:

"I just want to tell everybody that they shouldn't keep even one eye closed when they sleep, because what we Israelis know today, they will know tomorrow. Every country, mainly in Europe, has its minorities and has it problems. And one day, it [the terror] will come! This is the time to stop it, and to avoid babies being scattered on the streets.

"I'll tell you how I see the future: I think Israel is like the canary in the coal mine, and... we in Israel are dying now. We are slaughtered on a daily basis, but you're next... And you hope that if you tolerate it, and try to understand its motives, and you give it reasons, whatever they are. I ask the Europeans: Do not tolerate murder!

"I don't want to use the word terrorism, because it's banal. Do not tolerate murder, do not appease the terrorists! Not for oil, and not because you're scared. Because the more fear you show, the faster it's going to be on your doorstep -- and then, God help you, because you gave it legitimacy. And my baby's blood is just as precious as any French blood. God help these hypocritical people..."

Writing in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Dan Gordon, described as "a peace activist who has held meetings with Arab leaders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza," offers some telling details on the aftermath of the battle of Jenin:

"I was in the Jenin refugee camp on April 16. In addition to noting that there was no smell of death in the camp and that the booby-traps and anti-personnel bombs laid out by the Palestinian gunmen were still very much in evidence, I heard a story, which I did indeed find chilling. It was told to me by Dr. David Zangen, chief medical officer of the Israeli paratroop unit, which bore the brunt of the fighting in Jenin. Zangen stated that the Israelis not only worked to keep the hospital in Jenin open, but that they offered the Palestinians blood for their wounded.

"The Palestinians refused it because it was Jewish blood. That is a chilling story to an American of my age, with memories of white, bigoted-racial purists refusing to accept blood from African Americans in the segregated South."

The Israeli response, which could easily have been, "fine, have it you own way," was to fly in 2,000 units of blood from Jordan, via helicopters, for the Palestinians.

...Yes, yes, many Europeans really do just want an end to the Israeli occupation, but the anti-Semitism coming out of Europe today suggests that deep down some Europeans want a lot more: They want Mr. Sharon to commit a massacre against Palestinians, or they want to describe what he did in Jenin as a massacre, so that the Europeans can finally get the guilt of the Holocaust off their backs and be able to shout: "Look at these Jews, they're worse than we were!"

I just attended an Arab media conference and was on a panel with Eric Rouleau, the Middle East correspondent of Le Monde, who said he had recently spoken to some French generals who told him that what Israel did in Jenin was worse than anything France did during the Algerian war. One million Algerians were killed in that war and two million were made homeless. So far 60 bodies have been recovered in Jenin, many of them fighters. You do the math.

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The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 7

(7)
Marie Poore,
June 17, 2002 12:00 AM

Thank you for printing the prayer list.
It is heartbreaking to see, even without being there and seeing firsthand. My prayers go out to the brave Israeli's and the IDF who have to endure such atrocities. I pray God gives you victory soon. As an American I wish my govt. would help you more because you not only need it but deserve it. You are in the right.

(6)
Yisrael Harris,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Comments

Once again, an excellent newsletter. Keep up the good work.

(5)
Anonymous,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Is prayer all we can do?

My concern is that personal holiness is overlooked in our effort to do the least we can do, pray. Are we blessing or cursing because truly,"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! ... Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."
GOD open our eyes to this.
Thank you for keeping these issues in the worlds face.----esn

(4)
Linda Boutet,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

praying for the wounded

I will be earnestly praying for the wounded (on the list I received today). I will believe for miracles for each precious person. Please send updates. I will be looking forward to hearing of their progress. I am so thankful to know these names so that I can pray specifically.May G-dbless you.
Linda

(3)
Charlie Miller,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

The Cannary Must Keep Singing

The welcomed song of Israel's freedom is all the more endangered. Just as the home is safe only if the child is safe, so will the world be safe, when all Israel is safe.
I, we, and all who are free must pray for Israel!

(2)
Deinya Mautz,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Thank you for specifc names

Thank you for specific names of those in need of healing prayers. It makes each prayer more concrete for me.

(1)
Anonymous,
June 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Support for Wounded

I read the list of individuals to pray
for that they may have a speedy recovery.
I wish Aish would set something up
where we could send messages to the
children and send a toy. Something
is set up to send soldiers pizzas
(a worthwhile cause), I would also
like to give a gift to a wounded child.
Could you set something up please?

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!